Just as he was stroking his sword and imagining the future,
A burly man in armor walked into the main tent and knelt on the ground. He said respectfully, “Great Chanyu, when are we going to attack?”
This person was the vanguard general of the grassland barbarians, and his name was Chao Wushu.
“How far are the foot soldiers from the cavalry camp?” Huyan Chanyu put away his sword and asked.
“There’s less than 30 miles left. 250,000 warriors will be able to join forces with the vanguard soon.” Chao Wushu was still kneeling on the ground as he reported the situation at the front line. “The materials needed for the siege equipment have been prepared. We can make the equipment for the initial siege in two days at the latest.”
“Very good!” Huyan Chanyu nodded and said with a smile, “We don’t have to be anxious. After we gather our troops, we can just steadily make siege weapons. There should be less than 10,000 soldiers in Yunshu County City. They definitely won’t dare to leave the city and disturb our warriors.”
“Yes, Great Chanyu!” Chao Wushu immediately kowtowed. “In five days, we should be able to consume all the materials and create most of the siege weapons. As long as we rest for another day, we can launch an attack.”
“Alright, then we’ll begin the siege in six days!” Huyan Chanyu was in a very good mood. He stood up, pointed his sword, and smiled. “No matter what, 300,000 against 10,000, the advantage is mine!”
….
In Yunshu County.
As a Governor of six counties as appointed by the State Overseer, Hui Shi had already taken over all the military affairs here.
Chen Tong, on the other hand, was preparing for war alongside him.
The grassland barbarians’ cavalry could not be underestimated.
Moreover, according to the latest news from the sentries, the 50,000 barbarian cavalry were only the vanguard. There were still more than 200,000 foot soldiers behind.
Who knew where the grassland barbarians got the resources to raise so many soldiers?
Hui Shi believed that he could defeat 10,000 cavalry alone, but it was unknown if he could defeat 50,000 cavalry.
Although he had the Heavenly Dragon’s Mighty Bodhisattva Fist dragon runes on him and he had the power to crush Deity Realm experts, his martial cultivation was only at the peak of the Inner World realm after all. He could not continuously replenish the power of the dragon runes. If he fought for too long, the power would be exhausted.
If he really had to fight against an army, he had to rely on the soldiers here.
Above the city walls, a cold wind howled.
Chen Tong looked into the distance and saw a vast expanse. This was an extremely suitable location for cavalry to charge.
Although the enemy’s cavalry could not be used to attack the city, they could be used to provide cover for the 200,000 foot soldiers behind, giving the rear enough time to prepare their siege weapons.
When the barbarians transported the siege equipment over, the siege would begin.
Currently, there are only 8,000 standing soldiers in Yunshu County. This was because when King Yan caused trouble previously, a large number of soldiers had been transferred away and had yet to return.
8,000 soldiers, defending against hundreds of thousands!
The outcome would definitely be extremely tragic!
Therefore, Chen Tong submitted a letter to Cui Heng, requesting for the right to recruit soldiers in Yunshu County.
Only by recruiting enough soldiers would they have a chance to defend Yunshu County.
Otherwise, everything was just empty talk.
“County Governor, how do you plan to fight this battle?” Chen Tong asked Hui Shi.
“If Lord Overseer’s reply can arrive before these barbarians attack the city, I’ll naturally listen to his arrangements.” Hui Shi’s thoughts were simple and extreme. He looked into the distance and said in a low voice, “If the reply doesn’t arrive, I’ll leave the city and kill a path through the army.”
“Indeed, that’s the only way.” Chen Tong nodded and turned to look into the city. He could clearly hear the sounds of the army training not far away. “Governor Meng has begun to train the soldiers. Shall we go over and take a look?”
“Let’s go.” Hui Shi nodded.
The Governor of Yunshu County was called Meng Zhang.
He was already 57 years old, but his physique was still very strong. He personally trained the soldiers and shouted loudly.
“Boys!” Meng Zhang stood in front of the 8,000 soldiers in his armor and shouted, “The barbarians have arrived at the city wall. They want to break through our walls, rob our food, kill our sons, and snatch our wives and daughters! What should we do!”
“Kill them all!”
“Kill them!”
“Kill those barbarians!”
The 8,000 soldiers were furious and roared with flushed faces.
They were basically local citizens of Yunshu County. Their parents, families, wives, and children were all here.
If the barbarians breached the city, the consequences would be unimaginable.
28 years ago, Yunshu County was still in the hands of the grassland barbarians. Many of the 8,000 soldiers were born in that era. They would often hear their elders talk about that tragic life. There were even some soldiers who had personally experienced that era.
Everyone knew very well what kind of life they led under the rule of the grassland barbarians.
No, not life!
It could only be considered a mere existence!
At that time, the people here could not even hold any hope in their hearts for a better life.
Especially the ladies.
As long as a girl was over ten years old, they would basically become the playthings of the barbarians.
They were simply living in hell. This time, they had to defend Yunshu County! Meng Zhang looked at the angry soldiers and felt very gratified.
But there was no joy in his heart at all.
He knew very well that once the battle broke out and the city defense began, the 8,000 soldiers in front of him would definitely die in large numbers. It was unknown if there would even be 2,000 of them left.
However, as the Governor of Yunshu County, he had to appear strong enough. Facing these soldiers, he continued to shout, “That’s right! Kill those barbarians!
“This is our home. There’s no place to retreat behind us. We have nowhere to hide or escape. We can only fight to the death. Only by guarding this city can we have a chance of survival!”
He was originally a soldier as well.
He knew very well the importance of Yunshu County.
This was the northern gate of Fengzhou. Without Yunshu County, the barbarians from the north could enter at any time and plunder the lands.
The entire Fengzhou would become defenseless.
28 years ago, Meng Zhang followed the Northern Garrison General, Chen Pengju, to attack the barbarians in the north and reclaim Yunshu County that had fallen into the hands of the barbarians. Only then did they completely restore the entire Fengzhou.
Before that, although Fengzhou was considered the territory of the Great Jin in name, it had long become the backyard of the barbarians in the north. They could enter and leave as they pleased and trample through the entire territory.
Moreover, Yunshu County had a ranch used to raise horses that could block massive armies.
Only with Yunshu County can Fengzhou be considered the Great Jin’s Fengzhou. Without Yunshu County, Fengzhou was just a little girl who could be violated by the barbarians at any time.
Yunshu County could not be lost again!
At this moment, Hui Shi and Chen Tong walked over, but they did not disturb Meng Zhang’s training. Instead, they waited quietly at the side.
After Meng Zhang finished his round of training, he came to the two of them and cupped his hands. He asked, “My Lords, how’s the situation outside the city?”
Initially he was a little dissatisfied with these two officers from Changfeng Prefecture.
However, after getting along with them, he realized that both of them were dedicated to the common people, so he became harmonious with them.
In particular, Meng Zhang realized that Hui Shi’s eyebrows were extremely similar to Chen Pengju’s.
This made him feel much closer to Hui Shi.
There was basically no conflict.
Hui Shi said in a low voice, “There are often barbarian sentries patrolling outside the city. They should be checking on the situation of our city defense. Occasionally, they’ll shoot arrows at the city walls or send letters in to stir up trouble.”
Chen Tong nodded and said solemnly, “In the past two days, most of the rumors fabricated by them is that the Emperor of the Great Jin has already issued an edict to cede Fengzhou to their commander, Chanyu.
Although this matter is extremely unbelievable, it has already spread throughout the army and the commoners. Governor Meng, please pay more attention and don’t let the soldiers and commoners be bewitched.”
Only a fool would give up a state’s land to the nomadic barbarians for no reason.
No one in Yunshu County believed it.
“The person who spread this news deserves to be killed!” Meng Zhang’s expression was extremely gloomy. Such a psychological attack was not something that those barbarians would do. Could it be that someone was secretly guiding them?
However, in the face of such means, he could only curse. It was difficult to take effective measures. He quickly calmed down and asked, “Commander Chen, has Lord Overseer’s reply arrived?”
“Not yet.” Chen-Tong shook his head. “But, according to the timing, Lord Overseer’s reply should be on its way by now.”
“That’s good…” Meng Zhang nodded at first, then thought for a moment and couldn’t help but say,” Commander Chen, there’s something I can’t help but want to say.
“Now that the situation in Yunshu County is urgent and we lack soldiers, we should start recruiting troops as soon as possible. Only then will we have a stronger chance of defending the city and not rely on these 8,000 foot soldiers.
“That’s right. We don’t have the authority to recruit troops ourselves. According to the procedures, we need to gain permission from the State Overseer first. But now that the troops are at the city gates, we don’t have that much time.”
His meaning was very simple. A General should not accept the orders of an Emperor. They should not care about the process now and should just start the recruitment directly.
“No. If it were any other State Overseer, you wouldn’t be wrong to do this.” Chen Tong shook his head and said, “But it’s different under Lord Overseer Cui. As long as we can get a reply from him, we’ll definitely win this battle.”
“Lord Overseer has great divine powers. As long as he sends us even a piece of paper, we can destroy the barbarian army with a flick of our fingers,” Hui Shi explained.
“…” Meng Zhang fell silent when he heard this. He thought of some rumors about the Fengzhou Governor, Cui Heng, and frowned. “There’s no Giant River here. There’s no way to drown the army with water.”
Like most people, he believed that Cui Heng had relied on the advantage of the terrain and the power of the Giant River to defeat the army that was several times the size of his own.
As for great divine powers?
Since ancient times, no one had ever heard of any Mystical Powers powerful enough to defeat an army of hundreds of thousands.
It was impossible to believe.
“I don’t think we’ll receive a reply from Lord Overseer,” Hui Shi suddenly said.
These words immediately shocked Chen Tong.
What did that mean?!
He was about to ask when he saw Hui Shi bowing respectfully to the sky. “Welcome, Lord Overseer!” Hui Shi bowed to the sky respectfully.
The dragon runes on his back had sensed a familiar aura. This meant that Cui Heng had come and had no intention of hiding his whereabouts.
Chen Tong hurriedly looked up.
He saw a figure slowly floating over from the horizon.
Hence, he hurriedly bowed as well and exclaimed, “Welcome, Lord Overseer!”
“F-flying here?!” Meng Zhang looked at Cui Heng in shock.
To most people, such a method of riding the clouds was already considered the means of an Immortal.
Many citizens and soldiers in the city also saw Cui Heng descend from the sky on a cloud. Their hearts were instantly filled with endless joy.
When the barbarians were about to attack the city, an Immortal suddenly appeared.
This was simply like a light appearing in the dark night.
The originally anxious citizens immediately felt much safer.
At this moment, no matter what they were doing, they all knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Cui Heng.
Streaks of red and white light that only Cui Heng could see slowly floated into the sky.